PREPPING THE MAHINDRA THAR FOR A LONG DRIVE

I am planning my first long distance drive in my Mahindra Thar. It is a 2016 Thar Crde having done 10,000 kms. in 2 years and 02 free services have been done, based on time and not on kms. driven

My sturdy stead

To make matters interesting, my drive is planned to Spiti, one of the remotest and most dangerous places you can drive to in India. So I need to carry all my spares, as getting any help in such areas is difficult, if not impossible.

As with any Thar owner, I have been customising my car little-by-little, since I got it 2 years back. In fact, one of the reasons I got the Thar was because of the scope for customisation and making it a personal statement. I have already made the following changes to my Thar:

• Changed the front and rear bumpers to off-road type
• Changed the tyres to Maxxis Bighorn 980 A/T - size 31 x 10.5 r15
• Changed to steel rims - 15" 160 pcd
• Installed a snorkell for water-wading
• Installed extra LED lights for night off-roading / highway driving
• Installed a farmer's jack on the bonnet, to help with the larger tyres 
• I have also retuned my Thar with Pete's Automotive. Much smoother and more power output now.

Getting back to the trip, considering the seriousness of preparing the Thar well, I took my trusty Thar to the M&M workshop. It was important for me to learn to make small repairs and maintenance myself. I was lucky to have great technicians at the local M&M dealer, Jitendra Wheels, who helped and guided me in DIY remedies for roadside repairs, understanding and identifying problems and location of equipments such as fuse box etc.

Getting ready

                      

The complete list of things I changed in my Thar during the servicing:

• Oil filter
• Engine oil
• Brake pads (The existing pads had done only 10K kms. But I changed them to be safe and carried the old pads as back-up)
• Fuel filter
• Air filter
• Engine coolant top-up
• Wiper blades
• Wheel alignment & balancing
• All bulbs checked

The entire servicing took 4 hours. I sincerely feel that my standing on the shop floor made a lot of difference as every little thing was double-checked and tightened. The total servicing bill was approx. Rs. 12,000 (No labour charge as it was free service).

Apart from the above, I already have a clutch pipe protection plate and differential guard fitted in my Thar (Both of Metal House brand, bought from www.bluegarage.in). While on this topic, the clutch pipe protector fit like a glove. However, the diff guard required some cutting to match the diff screws. Luckily, the diff oil did not leak while installing the guard.

* Pics from Blurgarage.in website

Also, I got underbody and silencer exhaust anti-rust coating done from 3M (http://carcarestores.3mindia.co.in). This is for controlling the rust and not providing any more chance to water to damage the underbody.  

Next up was the list of spares and tools I needed to carry. This was more important than the servicing as my entire trip depended on being prepared. Me being the anxious type, I believe in preparing and planning everything in minute detail. So my shopping for spares, tools and tackles started well in advance. 

The complete list of things I carried:

• Sturdy Tool bag - I have an Excel Tool bag - Large size. Bought from www.amazon.in for Rs. 1,550. It's very sturdy and large enough to fit most of the spares and tools.

* Pic from internet

• Wiper blades - Bosch brand; 12" size
• Brake pads
• Engine Coolant
• Air filter
• Brake oil
• Engine oil
• Clutch cable joints
• Spare headlight and taillight bulbs
• Fuses - 

• Toolkit -  

        

Socket Set

Spanner Set

Allen key (Hex key) set

In my experience, we can use the above three toolkits and for pretty much any work on the car. 

• Towrope - 5 Tons capacity, 5 meters length - (Bought from HVK Store). Don't believe the low cost ones (Rs. 300-500) available on online shopping sites. I bought one and it couldn't tow even a cycle, much less a Thar. Please buy a good quality rope.
• Jumper cable - Again, be careful and buy good quality cable. 
• 25L extra fuel can
• Spare keys (Very important but often forgotten)
• Duck Tape & Double sided tape
• WD 40 (Life saver and a MUST)
• Cut resistant gloves
• Fire Extinguisher
• Foldable chair - From Decathalon store
• Misc. tools (scissors, large torch, zip-ties, Mseal etc.)
• Air pump - TIREWELL 12V Digital Tyre Inflator - I bought this product from  www.amazon.in based on 400+ reviews giving it high rating. I have used it frequently since then. It takes about 4-5 mins. to fill a completely flat tyre of Innova. Plus, the air pressure indicator is pretty accurate (I have filled air from machine and cross-checked in tyre shop machine). The machine does vibrate during operation but it's not a dealbreaker. The construction is also quite sturdy.

* Pic from internet

This rounded off the preparation of the vehicle for my epic journey. I also carried a medical kit and two oxygen cylinders for AMS. Stay tuned for my further posts on road trips and my experiences on wheels.